


Valkyrie: Resurrection

by ClaraKeanen



Series: The MCDCEU (But of Fanfic) [2]
Category: DCU, DCU (Comics), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Love, M/M, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Or any of the villains, Post-Killing Joke, Seriously I didn't even tag all of the characters, So many tags, The Author is Back on Her Bullshit, We leave canon behind after CA:TWS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2020-09-27 13:09:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20408278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaraKeanen/pseuds/ClaraKeanen
Summary: It's been three-years since Barbara Gordon relocated to this dimension, and in that time she's fallen in love, saved the world, gotten engaged AND exploded a demigod hellbent on universal destruction. In spite of all of the insanity that was the whole saving-the-universe thing, Barbara truly feels like she's never had it quite this good.But that's part of what makes the Joker and his comrades so damn charming. They always cause trouble at the worst possible time.





	1. Prologue: Or, the Injustice League

“Bruce. This can’t be your decision.”

John Constantine extinguished his cigarette between his fingers, twisting the ashes into the black glass which made up the long table in front of him. 

“She knew what the job entailed when she signed up, Kal. We can’t risk it.”

“That’s it, then? We’re just going to offer Steph up like some sacrifice?”

“Don’t act like you’re surprised, Dickhead." The smoky voice seated next to John chuckled darkly. “This is how the old man operates when the going gets rough. I would know.”

A glove-covered fist slammed onto the glass. “That’s not fair, Jay -”

“No, what’s not fair is that that  _ monster  _ has Steph, and that we’re just going to let him take her apart, Grayson,  _ THAT’S  _ what’s not fair! Fuckin’ Christ, we might as well drop Cass off on his door step, give him the whole fucking Batgirl set!”

The darkened hall exploded into noise around John. He just sighed and snapped his fingers, another cigarette popping in between them.

“ENOUGH!” The voice from the head of the table was cold and sharp. “There’s too much in motion for us to risk acquiescing to his demands, or worse, be taken out of commission. We attend in our public personas, and no member of the League makes an appearance. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” John replied dryly. He snapped his fingers, and the cigarette in his hand glowed. “Anything else? No? Good.” He pushed himself away from the oblong table, ignoring the furious glares of his compatriots.

“And what do you think you’re doing?”

“Sorry, Supes, places to go, people to see, that sort of thing," he drawled in reply. He shot a quick look at the front of the table, and was half-surprised that Superman  _ didn’t  _ laser his ass into the ground, he looked so infuriated. “Best of luck, gentlemen. I’ll see you when I see you.”

“Damn it, Constantine -”

He didn’t bother waiting around to hear what the Kryptonian would have said; with a snap of his fingers, the great hall disappeared from view, and he found himself standing in his warmly-lit London-based sanctum. Alec, Zatanna, and Deadman sat in a cluster of cushioned armchairs, arranged in a haphazard circle in front of an ornate fireplace. Zatanna stood up almost immediately as he entered.

“What did they say?”

“They’re not going to do it,” he replied, ash falling from his lit cigarette.

Zatanna growled and swung around in a circle,  the fire in the hearth growing in time with her ire.

“Any update from Xan?”

“Their situation remains the same,” Alec spoke gravely from his seat. “They remain in the dark.”

“Great,” Constantine muttered. “How are our guests doing?”

“Nothing new.”

“Etrigan is keeping a close eye on them, just to be safe.”

Constantine walked over to the fireplace and leaned against it, watching as Zatanna continued to pace back and forth. “This might be it.”

Zatanna groaned, massaging her temples with her hands. “I think you’re right. I was just hoping it’d be for something a bit more apocalyptic.”

“Who’s to say it won’t be?” Deadman finally spoke, and Zatanna finally stopped pacing.

SJohn dropped his cigarette into the fire and watched as it burned away to nothing. “You heard the ghost,” he s ai d, shooting a quick nod in  Zatanna’s direction. 

“It’s time we bring our little bird home.”


	2. Who Says You Can't Go Home?

“Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

Barbara Soon-To-Be-Rogers rolled her eyes for what felt like the thousandth time that day. “I promise  you, I’m going to be all right.”

Steve had the courtesy to look slightly abashed. “Sorry, I just worry, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” she said, looking back at the monitor with a small smile. “You’re lucky you’re adorable. Otherwise, having you break into the shower  every time I cut myself shaving would get annoying  _ really  _ fast.”

“Hey, that only happened once, and in my defense, Bucky said that FRIDAY said you were bleeding -”

“And he’s even worse than you are.”

“But -”

“Steve. I’m going to be just fine.  Stephen and I’ve got the whole hero-thing handled while you’re all gone, and both FRIDAY and A.L.F.R.E.D. will alert you just in case something happens, but I can guarantee you that  _ nothing will.” _

_ “ _ But -”

“ - on the phone  _ again _ ?” The picture suddenly blurred away as Natasha’s voice came over the line. “I  _ just  _ had to wrestle Barnes away from his back-up FRIDAY communicator, don’t think I won’t tie you up if that’s what this takes!” Steve hollered something in reply, and Natasha just rolled her eyes before looking at the monitor. “I’ve found seven phones so far. If they contact you on anyone else’s, feel free to send me a text.”

“ - just worried -”

“ - yes, Cap, everyone in this  _ hemisphere  _ knows you’re worried,” Tony’s voice piped up from behind Natasha somewhere, “Jesus, can’t you just enjoy -”

“I definitely will,” Barbara replied with a laugh. “And before they start to make you feel guilty, I think this whole ‘ Captain America Bachelor Party World Tour’ thing is a great idea. If anyone deserves a week off, it’s you.”

“Are you sure you don’t want that too? We can definitely extend it.”

“A long weekend on a beach somewhere is more than enough for me. Besides, I don’t think Darcy would survive it,” Barbara joked, watching as Darcy’s flushed face appeared behind Natasha’s. When Tony announced that Natasha had a pass into the bachelor party weekend, Darcy had all but started a civil war within the Tower, and the stand-off had lasted almost two weeks before Pepper finally decreed that yes, any of the female Avengers could join the bachelor party, if only for the sake of the expensive carpet that had to be replaced due to the  _ gallons  _ of jellied moose nose Darcy had spread across the entirety of the game room.

“BEST! WEEK! EVER!” Darcy whooped loudly before she disappeared, presumably dragged by Bruce/Carol/Thor/Jane/ Vision/Peter/ whomever was on ‘Darcy duty’ for that day.

“If you’re sure.”

“Believe me, I’m sure. Now, go have fun, tell Steve I love him, and if there’s any opportunity for  embarrassing pictures, please take and send them to me as soon as possible.”

Natasha smirked evilly into the monitor. “Roger that, Valkyrie.” With that, the screen blinked off, and Barbara exhaled back into her sofa.

“A.L.F.R.E.D., hold all of my calls from the team unless it’s an emergency.”

“Of course, Miss Gordon. Would you like me to bring up your Netflix queue?”

“Yes, please, I need to catch up on my  _ Stranger Things. _ ”

“Right away, Miss -” A.L.F.R.E.D.’s voice was suddenly drowned out by the snap of a portal appearing on the other side of her coffee table. Barbara leapt up, upsetting the bowl of popcorn on her lap, and felt the fire in her eyes begin to glow just as two familiar figures stepped into her living room.

“John? Zatanna?”

John Constantine stepped forward, a grave expression on his normally smirking face. “Hey, Red.”

"Hey, John, this is a surprise.”

“Yeah, well, I wish it was a more pleasant one.” John nodded at  Zatanna , who disappeared back through her portal. “Something’s rotten in the state of Gotham.”

“Isn’t it always?”

“Yeah,” John snorted, “but this might actually take the cake.” 

“ - weekly game of mahjong, this better be important -” Stephen  Strange’s voice echoed as he exited out of the portal, followed by a solemn  Zatanna Zatara. “If you’ve gotten yourselves into another trickster – oh,” he fell quiet, looking at Barbara in shock. “So it’s serious, then.”

“You could say that. Barbara, be a dear and get some tea started,” John said, pulling her up off of the sofa. “You’re going to need it.”

///////////

“It wasn’t until he was actually elected President that things started to go bad. ” The  small group had convened around Barbara’s dining room table. Barbara’s own cup of herbal tea was being completely ignored in favor of her focused horror on Zatanna’s words. “ And I’m not talking riots-in-the-streets bad, I’m talking about allegations of superheroes purposely endangering lives levels of bad.”

“The League wouldn’t do that though.”

“We  all know that, but the public doesn’t. At least, not anymore. Luthor’s good,” John said, dropping his cigarette onto Barbara’s carpet and extinguishing it with his foot .  “Very good. Even Overwatch wasn’t able to  suss out the doctored footage over half the time. And if Overwatch couldn’t -”

“ - then nobody else could,” Barbara finished.

“Exactly. Three months into President Luthor’s tenure, and  our dear Pres goes ahead and hires  LutherCorp to assist in the timely collection and reassignment of vigilantes . And in that illustrious presentation, he  reveals the new head of  LutherCorp , an allegedly ‘sane’ Jerome Napier.”

“Allegedly sane?”

“The report was written by Dr.  Harleen Quinzel , so take from that what you will,” Constantine replied with a snort. “I honestly can’t tell you if the Joker was actually rehabilitated or not.”

“I f he wasn’t, then he’s an incredible actor ,”  Zatanna continued in a low voice.

“I mean, honestly, there’s no other way  Jerome fucking Napier  could become the most sought-after playboy in the United States.”

Barbara felt her lunch threaten to travel back upwards. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“Oh, how I wish I could,” Constantine replied with a grimace.

“ That’s not important,”  Zatanna shot a glare at Constantine. “ What matters is that Luthor is dragging the country towards a fascist state, and Jerome Napier has been given free license to operate however he wants to globally. He could get away with murder, if he wanted to, and in ten hours he will. Batgirl’s been captured.”

Barbara felt the blood drain from her face.  Gasping, she wrapped her hands in front of her mouth.  “Oh my God. Steph.”

“The League’s kept patrolling, trying to garner positive public attention in the face of Luthor’s societal erosion. There’s been too many close calls, though,”  Zatanna continued. “Napier’s  ‘ superhero capture squad ’ is military-grade. It was only a matter of time until they caught someone, and now, they’re holding a gala in Gotham tonight in celebration.”

“Celebration? Celebration of what?” Barbara slowly s at up, a deepening sense of horror racing through her veins.

“The beginning of the end of the age of heroes,” Constantine intoned softly. “Dinner, drinks, and then a casual Saturday evening execution.”

“Oh, my God.”

“And, I’m sorry, there’s no one in your government who might be against this?”

“In a government that almost entirely consists of Luthor’s paid employees and fellow  Arkham inmates? Not bloody likely.”

“Dear God.” Stephen leaned back in his chair, face pale. “That’s insane.”

“Well, that’s the Joker for you,” Constantine laughed harshly.

“And that’s why we’re here.”  Zatanna turned her dark eyes upon Barbara. “Bruce has ordered that the League stand down.”

“WHAT?!” Barbara exploded, feeling the table underneath her fall into dust at her touch. “He ordered WHAT?!”

“The League’s been backed into a corner. Steph’s an important member, sure, but -”

“She’s not Batman, or the Green Arrow, or Superman, and therefore she doesn’t really matter.” Barbara growled lowly in her throat. “Why doesn’t that fucking surprise me?”

“Try to explain this in a way that makes sense,” Stephen uttered sharply, in a tone of voice so cold observers would have shivered.

“There’s a conditional part of Batgirl’s execution,” Constantine leaned forward, brushing aside his empty teacup. “If another hero comes forward and gives up their identity, they take her place. Ideally, they’d like to spare Batgirl and catch a bigger fish.”

“Gotham still remembers that Jerome killed the last Batgirl,”  Zatanna eyed Barbara. “There have been rumblings against Luthor for the first time in his tenure. So, despite Jerome’s bloodlust, they’d prefer to sacrifice someone else.”

“And the League isn’t going to even try?” Barbara spat out.

“We’re practically living in a police state, Babs. Batman has a lot of faults, but he would try even if they thought they only had a 1% chance of succeeding.”

“I mean, we still think they should try, but – well, it’s not a pretty world, our home.” Constantine sighed. 

"So, we’re here because -”

“You need our help.” Strange finished.

“We need Barbara’s  help. We just figured you might like to come along for the ride.”

“We’re currently down two magic-users,”  Zatanna elbowed Constantine in the side. “Our team has managed to infiltrate Luthor’s upper echelon, but they haven’t been able to give us any information yet. And since John and I have to be there -”

“She’ll need an escape ticket,” Stephen murmured. “That is, if we decide to go.”

“No, there's no decision to be made. I’m going,” Barbara said, turning to look at Stephen with a look of angry resolution on her face. “I’m not going to let the Joker do to her what he did to me.”

“That’s all good and well, but I’m not convinced it’s a good idea for you.” Strange narrowed his eyes at her. “A.L.F.R.E.D. keeps me appraised of your sleeping habits, and -”

“The nightmares won’t  stop if I never go back,” Barbara replied wearily. “They are something I have to life with. But if I can spare someone else, I will.”

“You know this means you’ll have to come clean,” Constantine murmured quietly. “He’s going to want answers.”

“We’ll see if I feel like giving them,” Barbara replied coolly. “Bruce Wayne is not my priority.”

“Nor mine,” Stephen cut in. “We get in, we save this Batgirl, and we return here immediately. I don’t know about you,” Stephen shot a look at Barbara, “but I’d prefer to tell your fiancée and his cyborg friend about our little trip  _ after  _ we’ve returned safe and sound.”

Barbara paled. “Agreed.”

“I’m afraid I must interrupt,” FRIDAY spoke up over the speakers. “Mister Stark insisted that I inform him if any sort of emergency arose, and I believe this situation falls within those parameters.”

“No, FRIDAY,” Barbara spoke up, holding her hand up in the air. “Don’t tell the team.”

“If you are going to be in danger, Ms. Gordon, then I’m afraid I cannot comply,” FRIDAY replied quickly.

“Give us until midnight, New York time. If everything goes to plan, it shouldn’t take longer than that to get Stephanie to safety. If we aren’t back by midnight, then make the call. Will you accept that compromise?”

FRIDAY was silent for a few moments. “Unless the team contacts me before the n , I will agree.”

“ Okay,” Barbara nodded. She looked up at her three companions around the table, and seeing the fierce determination on their faces spurred her into action. “Okay . A.L.F.R.E.D., I’m taking you with me, so prepare to go local. You’ll need to do a total data download the minute we arrive.”

“Preparing my servers now, Miss Gordon.”

“Great. Stephen, do you need anything?”

Stephen quirked his eyebrow, and his cloak unfurled around him, waving at Barbara.

“Right, okay, good. FRIDAY, deploy the gala emergency bag,” Barbara ordered, standing up and heading for the emergency-suit-deployment-chute located in her bedroom. A small black duffel landed in the holding compartment with a thud, and Barbara swung it around her shoulder. “A.L.F.R.E.D., what’s your status?”

“I am ready for mobile usage, Miss Gordon.”

“Great.” Barbara snatched her newly-improved-remote-A.L.F.R.E.D.-interface watch from her dresser and pushed the sleek silver design onto her thin wrist. As she did, her eyes landed on the sparkling ring on her finger, and she found herself gazing at it.

“Miss Gordon?”

“Right. Right,” she murmured to herself, shaking her head out of it. “Okay, A.L.F.R.E.D. It’s  go time.” Exiting out of her bedroom, she rejoined the others in the kitchen, who were standing in a circle and murmuring amongst themselves. “Are we ready?”

“We’re ready.”

“The better question is, are you ready?”

Barbara squeezed the ring on her left hand between her fingers, and nodded. “As much as I’ll ever be.”

“All right, then.” The wrinkles on Constantine’s forehead smoothed out, and he shot her a grateful nod. “Let’s go ruin the Joker’s night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOL I LIED HERE'S CHAPTER ONE TOO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK K THANX


	3. Goodnight Gotham

“Careful. You’re about to break the glass.” Diana took a sip of her champagne, watching as Kal snapped back to attention and carefully set his champagne flute down on the bar in front of them. He huffed, turning away from the bar with a shake of his head.

“Diana -”

“I know,” she murmured, setting her now empty flute down next to Kal’s.

His shoulders tightened. Diana let out a slow exhale, allowing her eyes to briefly survey the room. Gotham’s LuthorCorp building was certainly the most ornate of Luthor’s many global installations. The ballroom was positively palatial, with creamy marble archways reaching towards the large glass dome which made up the roof of the main hub. Its walls were a warm off-white, and between the candlelit wall sconces and intermittent crystal chandeliers, the large hall was almost entirely bathed in that same warm light. Hundreds of national and global governmental officials had already entered the hall, as had several members of the League in their civilian disguises. Bruce was naturally in the midst of the crowd, his face permanently locked into that bureaucratic expression that Diana positively _hated _to see. And from the way those he greeted laughed and smiled, one would think they were at the Wayne Foundation Charity Fundraiser and not a cold-blooded execution.

Diana suppressed the shiver racing up her spine and turned back to the bar, signaling for the bartender to bring another round. Kal was staring blankly ahead again, lost in thought.

“President Luthor!” Kal’s head snapped up. He turned towards the hall’s doors, staring at the newly arrived president, his arm comfortably draped around a disaffected Talia al Ghul.

“Mr. President!”

“ - word on tonight’s proceedings?”

The young man behind the bar carefully set Diana’s glass of pinot grigio in front of her. “Keep the change,” she murmured, sliding a few bills back towards him. “Come,” she said, wrapping her arm in Kal’s tense one. She spared a quick glance at Kal, whose gaze was locked on Luthor’s, a tension etched across his eyes. She squeezed his arm. His face smoothed itself out at her touch, and, flexing the muscle her hand was wrapped around, Kal led Diana in their slow walk towards the center of the room.

“ - end of the day, my primary concern is for the people, the people of this great nation, and the people of the world. When I was campaigning for President, I ran under the promise that I would do whatever it takes to make our world safe again, and tonight, I finally get to start fulfilling that promise.” Luthor shot a saccharine smile towards the small grouping of press that had been allowed into the hall. Kal instinctively angled towards him, and it took almost all of Diana’s strength to keep him on their path.

“Later,” she muttered. Kal huffed beside her, but acquiesced, and soon the pair was weaving through a crowd of foreign dignitaries. Diana smiled demurely and greeted them as they passed, only coming to a stop when they reached Bruce and Selina. “Mr. Wayne.” Diana put on her warmest smile and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“The feeling is quite mutual, Ms. Prince,” Bruce replied with that damned grin. “You remember my fiancée, Ms. Selina Kyle?”

“Of course,” Diana turned her smile towards Selina. “Lovely to see you as well, Ms. Kyle.”

“Likewise, Ms. Prince,” Selina smirked slightly. “And you, Mr. Kent! I’m surprised you aren’t holding court with the press.”

“And have to fight Lois for the assignment? No, I’m much happier breathing.” The small group began to laugh, and in a perverse way, Diana was almost impressed. She knew Bruce and Selina were both very capable actors, but she’d never seen Clark turn on the charm so quickly. If she didn’t know any better, she herself would think that they were just four casual acquaintances, completely at ease with current events.

“You know, that reminds me, I was just telling Bruce -”

“Bruce? Bruce Wayne? Well, if it isn’t my lucky day!”

Diana’s eyes shot over to Bruce. His face was still frozen in that same Bruce Wayne smile, but his eyes were hard, dark crystals. Diana coughed, delicately, into her hand, and just for a moment, his dark eyes fixed on her. She blinked slowly, once, twice, and “Bruce Wayne” slid back into place right before her eyes, just in time for Jerome Napier to waltz into the middle of their circle.

“See, girls? I told you he’d be here!” The Joker grabbed hold of Bruce’s hands and began frenetically shaking them. “I’m so glad you decided to come!”

Bruce’s smile was sharp. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world, Mr. Napier. You remember Selina?”

“Oh, I could never forget Ms. Kyle,” Jerome laughed, turning to face her and pressing a loud kiss to her hands. “You look stunning.”

“Thank you, Mr. Napier -”

“Please, please, call me Jerome.”

“Jerome,” Selina fixed a glassy smile on her face. Diana watched as her eyes drifted to a pair of chattering young women standing just outside the group. “And who are your lovely guests?”

“Oh, of course, how impolite! Girls!” He turned around, snapping his fingers. Two young women, both with clearly-dyed red hair, rushed up to either side of the Joker. “Jaina, Charisse, meet Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Brucie, Selina, meet the girls.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Wayne!” They chorused in a rush of giggles.

“And?” Jerome’s voice sharpened.

“And Ms. Kyle!”

“Good,” that damn relaxed smile appearing on his face again. “Girls, why don’t you get yourselves something to drink, hmm? It’s going to be a long night.” The girls squealed and ran off, making a beeline towards the bar. Jerome chuckled to himself before turning back towards Bruce. “Ahhh, women these days. Am I right or am I right, Brucie?”

“Answer carefully, Brucie, or you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” Selina cut in, shooting Jerome a wicked grin.

Jerome cackled in response. “Feisty, feisty. I like it,” he half-whispered before laughing again. “Oh, you two, you never fail to brighten my day.”

“He’s just a bastard like that, isn’t he?”

Diana felt Kal tense up again. “Bruce,” Lex Luthor stepped past Diana, holding out his hand. “Good to see you.”

“And you, Mr. President,” Bruce beamed, his mask locked firmly in place. “I must say, I love what you’ve done with the place. You have to give me the name of your designer.”

“And lose my favorite contractor? Not in hell.” The pair laughed, although their hands were still tightly clasped together. “We have to do lunch sometime.”

“I’d love to, it’s been far too long since I’ve been in Washington. Think you can fit me into your schedule?”

“I’m sure he can,” Jerome cut in, and at the sound of this voice, the other men dropped hands. “I’ll have Peyton arrange it herself.”

“Excellent, excellent,” Lex smiled, completely ignoring Diana and Kal. “Now, Bruce, I’ve been meaning to ask you -”

“It will have to wait, I’m afraid,” Talia al Ghul walked over, looping her arms around both Lex and Jerome. “There are several others we need to greet. Mr. Wayne,” she inclined her head towards Bruce. Bruce just nodded back at her in reply, his smile once again verging on too tight.

“Later, then,” Lex replied, and allowed himself to be pulled away with a smile.

“I’ll find you before the main event, Brucie. It’ll be a night to remember.” With one final laugh, Jerome was gone too, swept away by the Demon’s Daughter into the flood of gala attendees.

“So,” Diana exhaled through her nose, attempting to lure Bruce and company back into conversation, “it seems that the whole family is here tonight.” Her eyes darted across the room; Richard and Koriand’r were present, sticking close to a murderous-looking Jason Todd. Helena and Cass were clustered next to Kate, Kara and Dinah, and Cass was quite un-subtly shooting glares at Lady Shiva, who was laughing across the room with some U.N. delegates that had been invited. Hal was making the rounds with Oliver and a disguised J’onn, and Barry was attempting – and failing – to cover for the perpetual scowl on Arthur’s face while speaking in earnest with Ray, Martin and John.

“Most of us,” Bruce replied in kind. “Tim is a bit young to be out so late.”

So he’d noticed who was missing too. (_Vic, Kendra, Raven, Ronnie, Caitlin, Jessica, Billy, Adam_) Not that she could blame them. And she was, in fact, glad that most of the younger team members had opted to stay home. This was something they should never have to bear witness to.

“To be a child again,” Diana murmured.

“Yes, some people have all the luck,” Bruce smiled through gritted teeth.

“You don’t say.”

Kal clenched up next to her.

“Relax,” Diana hissed under her breath as John and Zatanna walked over to them. “John,” she said, forcing a smile as she turned to greet the newcomers. “I’m surprised to see you here.”

“Friends of yours, Diana?” Bruce asked, the cold glare in his eyes a complete mismatch for that damned grin on his face.

“Oh, yes, Diana and I go way back,” John said with a wink. There was a glass with some sort of dark liquor in his hand, and the ice chimed lightly within it. “John Constantine,” he said, making a show of holding out his hand to Bruce. “I do a bit of work for the Queen.”

“You don’t say,” Bruce feigned interest, grabbing John’s outstretched hand and squeezing much too tightly, if Diana could judge by the muscles flexing in his fingers. “It’s a pleasure. And who is the lovely lady accompanying you this evening?”

“Zatanna Zatara,” Zatanna spoke, nodding politely at the group. “It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Wayne.”

“Likewise. My fiancé, Selina Kyle.”

“A pleasure, I’m sure,” Selina purred. “I take it you are looking forward to tonight’s events?” She spoke a bit louder for the benefit of a prowling Roman Sionis, who was being led around the room by a watchful Victor Zsasz towards a group of blondes standing next to them.

“Oh, love, you have no idea,” John replied with a sharp grin. “I think it’s about time for some big changes around here, don’t you think?”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Roman left behind Zsasz, coming to join the group. “Roman Sionis,” he grinned, and Diana could smell the product in his hair from five feet away.

“John Constantine. And might I say, I love your suit.”

“By all means, and feel free to say it as loud as you’d like.” At that, the two men laughed, and Bruce busied himself with signaling for another drink.

“Deep breaths, Kal,” Diana murmured as low as she could possibly speaking, knowing only Kal could hear her. She watched as Victor Zsasz joined the group as well, and wrapped her arm around Kal’s. “Deep breaths.”

~~~

_“Deep breaths, Ms. Gordon. Deep breaths.”_ A.L.F.R.E.D.’s synthetic voice whispered lowly in her ear, barely able to be heard over the sounds of the frantic press trailing up and down the awaiting red carpet, shouting questions and photographic demands at the horde of LuthorCorp-invited guests.

“Name, please?”

Her eyes fluttered open – well, no, that wasn’t quite right. Raven’s eyes fluttered open, and she turned to shoot a disaffected glance at the security officers standing between her the gala.

“Raven Darkholme.”

“With?”

“The Townsend Agency.”

“Ah, yes. Another model.” The elder amongst the security officers, a man with long, greyish hair, turned an appraising glance her way, and his eyes felt cold and slimy as it slid down her exposed skin.

His companion, a younger man with slicked back black hair, nodded to himself and murmured something in the other’s ear. The corners of their mouths turned up.

“You’re good to go, Miss Darkholme. Enjoy your time in Gotham City.”

She shot them her blandest smile, although not even SHIELD’s photostatic mask technology could hide the harsh glint in her flashing purple eyes. “Believe me, gentlemen. I will.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HAVE HEARD YOUR CRIES, MY CHILDREN, AND I COME TO OFFER YOU SALVATION. (LOL JK the world is on fire but I am here to do what I can!)
> 
> So, I know it's been ~forever~ since I've updated my Barbara stories, and I just sort of hit a wall with the character, if that makes any sense. I can tell that my writing has improved since the days of Valkyrie Rising, and I was really struggling to conceptualize Barbara in what felt like a more well-rounded, realistic way (knowing full well how cracky some of my Barbara fics could get). That being said, it's taken me a while to arrive to this point, but I feel like I finally have my finger on HOW Barbara will be in this story. She's the same woman we know and love, but girl has to confront some (very literal) demons here, so girlfriend is going to be a little tougher with her DC pals. So yes, I am continuing to work on my Barbara stories and such (albeit a bit more sporadically, since I have other fic and ORIGINAL CONTENT ideas to work on too), but don't fear! I do want to finish this.
> 
> That being said, I know how short this chapter is relative to some others that I've written, but I was running out of ways to show the massive size of this gathering and I wanted Barbara to just get there already. It's those interactions that I'm the most interested in. But if anyone has ideas on how to show a larger, almost claustrophobia inducing population here, let me know!
> 
> And final question: my original intent was to make Natasha Romanoff an asexual character here, as that was a great recommendation I got from a commenter in Valkyrie Rising, but at the moment, I sort of want to see her steal Selina Kyle away from Bruce too? Let me know if you have any input either way.
> 
> Love you bunches, and here's to our girl kicking ass and taking names!


	4. HELP ME I'M DROWNING IN BUNNIES

Aha.

Ahaha.

Ahaha.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 

So something fun that happens when you don't write for a while (you meaning me) is that when you start to write again you realize that the small, cozy idea farm that you were raising bunnies on has completely lost all sense of control and that there are idea bunnies running everywhere and you don't know where half of them came from but you spend your time trying to scoop the bunnies back up and put them in their little bunny homes but there are just so many bunnies and no matter how much you sing "it's fine it's fine it's gonna be fine" over and over again the bunnies will overwhelm you and the farm will turn into a factory if you don't call in some extra workers. 

Basically, this is my way of saying that I need help, because there are a lot of characters and dynamics and interactions that we all want to see in this fic but I'm at the point where I don't know which ideas are keepers and which aren't (mainly when it comes to relationships and interactions that we see) because the last time I checked there were upwards of one hundred characters that I was going to mention at some point and this next chapter is a BIG ONE and SHIT GOES DOWN and I need to have certain things figured out before I write it because the gala really sets the stage for the rest of the fic. 

SOOOOOOOO I'm hoping/wondering if you'd be willing to spare a few minutes and give me your thoughts on the following? I know you're all as invested in this story as I am, and it'd be helpful to just get a feel for what you want to see/what you're interested in, because that will help me chart our path forward.

**THE BUNNIES THAT NEED SORTING ARE AS FOLLOWS:**

1\. **Bucky Freakin' Barnes.** I love Bucky more than life itself. But the way that I wrote Bucky in Valkyrie Rising is causing me all kinds of problems because he's SO overprotective of both Steve and Barbara (and when I say I wrote him that way, I mean he just did it and I just went along with it). My initial thought was to pair him with Kara, but the more time I spend plotting this out, the less that makes sense. What I'm wondering is this: would it be too weird or too much to bring him into the Barbara/Steve fold? Babs and Steve are solid. We stan. But I have the same problems with these three that I do with Barbara and Dick and Jason (when I plan for them), because I feel like they just work better as an OT3. So, how do we feel about Barbara/Steve/Bucky? Or do we see a different pairing, like Bucky/Stephanie Brown or Bucky/Jason Todd? Or does Bucky even need to be in a relationship? Or is he in a relationship but not crazy about intimate touch because of HYDRA? This is the biggest plot bunny I'm struggling with.

2\. **Kara Zor-El/Sam Wilson.** I think I love this ship. Thoughts?

3\. **Are we still cool with a Natasha/Selina pairing?**

4\. **What DC Heroes that I haven't named in the fic yet do you want to see?**

5\. **What DC Villains that I haven't named in the fic yet do you want to see?**

6\. **What character interactions are you most looking forward to?**

7\. **What other ideas/feedback do you have for me?**

8\. **And finally, who do you think should kill the Joker? **Because that boy's gonna get dead, yo.

I'll delete this cry for help once I have the chapter written, but it may be a week or so if I keep on schedule because this next one is a DOOZY. And you all already give me such wonderful feedback, I'm just off a two-day plotting binge and can't tell which way is up anymore and your input is SO, so helpful with this story. I love you all, and I'll be in touch soon <3

_(Also, if you ever need anything, feel free to message me on tumblr @clarakeanen, I am here for you!!! :)_

**Author's Note:**

> *pirouettes into the room* "It is I - " *prance prance prance* "back on my bullshit!" *throws confetti into the air with a flourish*
> 
> HELLO EVERYONE! I return to you having passed my Master's Essay and breathing the fresh air of freedom once again! Seriously though, I had a great time in the program, and I've been feeling so inspired in my free time to get back to all of this! For those of you waiting for a Queen of Hearts or Smitten Kitten update, I apologize, my brain has been in novel-length fic mode since I've gotten back, and those have fallen a bit by the wayside. I WILL finish them, I just want to get these other ones in motion as well. I'm almost wondering at this point if I should just post all of the randomly-started stories I have, just as proof that I have, in fact, been working really hard and I am DEDICATED! 
> 
> In any case, I just wanted to give you a little preview of what's to come in the next installment of the "Valkyrie" series. In case you're wondering, the named character cast list I have in my possession features OVER 130 names. So yeah. It's taking a bit of time to conceptualize and stuff. But it's finally starting! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride! (And I'm happy to take bets as to which of our heroes will finally solve this dastardly "breathing-Joker" issue once and for all.)
> 
> Love you all bunches and bunches!!!


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